Making the Grade
by Mary Bruno
When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act last year, it marked the first step in a long journey for public education.
In a series of firsts, the law required states to work over the next 12 years to develop performance and measurement standards for schools, upgrade certification requirements for teachers, and issue regular progress reports to the community. Schools that fail to show adequate progress for two consecutive years will be required to offer remedial instruction and allow parents to move their kids into better-performing public or charter schools.
Now, just over a year into the program, educators are scrambling to keep themselves from being left behind. State departments of education are interpreting the new regulations, school boards are developing strategies to implement new standards fairly, and teachers and administrators are debating long-term implications. Many agree that—if successful—the sweeping program could help close the gap between the haves and have nots in public schools. If not, critics fear, it will close the test-taking gap, widen the learning gap, and set back public education.
Arnold Fege, director of public engagement for Public Education Network, a Washington, D.C.-based education advocacy group, is cautiously optimistic. He views the landmark law as a good faith effort to shore up struggling schools.
"This is Congress's attempt to provide equal education opportunities for every child," Fege said. "That's a noble goal. At the end of the day, I think it's very revolutionary."
Dr. Joseph Montesano, superintendent of New Jersey's Hackensack school district, is concerned. He warns that timetables for implementation may be unrealistic for some schools.
"Nothing has happened yet except they've cocked the gun and said 'do this or else,' " Montesano said. "It's a politically wonderful thing to say 'we want adequate yearly progress for all kids.' In actual practice, it may take more time."
Patricia Raupers, director of curriculum and instruction in New Jersey's Northern Valley, worries about "one-size-fits-all" testing and punitive action against "low-performing" schools. Overlooking individual differences will lump special-needs kids in with the rest, she claims, skewing statistics and threatening diverse schools with the low-performing label.
"Many of the sponsors of this legislation really want to discredit public schools as a way to encourage privatization and private schools choice," she said.
Commenting on the first anniversary of enactment, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige said "we are still at the beginning" of the far-reaching program but significant steps have been taken in year one: The states have developed a nationwide list of schools classified as "in need of improvement." Work has begun on overhauling teacher certification programs. And 20 states have received reading grants totaling $412 million.
"We have made some real progress in assuring that all of our children receive a great education," Paige said. "We will continue to build on that foundation."
Paige points to the record $22 billion federal education budget as proof that the funds will be there.
In the meantime educators are lobbying hard for state standards that are high, but flexible enough to accommodate special need students or English-as-a-second-language pupils. Educators also want reliable tests that measure core knowledge and the more sophisticated critical thinking skills.
